Why Are So Many U.K. Air Pax Drunk?

Stories of
drunken airplane pax appear almost daily, but you may wonder whether there are
actually more of them today or if people just love writing and reading about
them.

The answer?
There's more of them. The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority has just released
stats that reveal a staggering 40% rise in incidents since 2014.

From April 2014
to March 2015, there were 271 incidents, 81 more than the previous period. The
list of liquor-fueled in-flight behaviour includes everything from brawls to
bomb threats, assaults on other pax and crew to racist comments – even genital
exposure.

British LCC
Jet2 has had enough. They are imposing big fines and threatening legal action
against loutish pax, including the potential for lifetime bans.

The problem has
gotten so bad at GLA that the airport has announced plans to employ bouncers to
patrols its bars, with special attention to party groups heading to
hard-drinking destinations like Ibiza and Alicante.

Ryanair is
taking action too, banning pax departing GLA from bringing their own booze on
flights to Ibiza.

Many hope the
piecemeal approach turns into something industry wide, and 4 carriers have
written to U.K. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin asking for help,
including encouraging airlines to share lists of problematic pax and putting
more responsibility on airport bars, which serve travellers before flights.

It's not just
Brits who are flying hammered. IATA statistics show that incidents of unruly
behaviour across the industry skyrocketed from 500 in 2007 to over 6,000 in
2011.

Barring an
outright ban on in-flight alcohol, harsher penalties may be the best deterrent.
Pax may not be at the controls of an airplane, but their bad behaviour can
threaten – or at the least highly inconvenience – the lives of hundreds of
others.

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